Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Sunday January 18, 2009, we are beginning our studies on the book of Exodus.

Today's Message: Yielding to God
Today we will learn the importance eliminating self will and yielding to God's Will. God has a purpose for each and every one of us and will use every experience as a way to prepare and bring us closer to Him to follow His Will for our lives.

Today's Bible Reading: Exodus Chapters 1-4
You can read the chapters by clicking on the link above, if the link does not work you can copy and paste this one into your browser: biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%201-4&version=9

The book of Exodus is the second book of the Old Testament and contains fourty chapters. The author of the book is Moses and it was written to Isreal. The purpose of the book was to record their deliverance from slavery in Egypt and document theit purpose for existance as a nation. What we are to learn from the book is that Salvation comes only through the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

After the death of Joseph and his brothers a new Pharoh took over in the land of Egypt, he no recollection of Joseph and feared the multitudes of Isrealites among the land. The once privileged Israelites were reduced to bitter slavery. "And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land." (Exodus 1:6-10). All of God's children are feared by the world and they will try anything to keep us captive.

The severity of their fear became obvious when Pharoh demanded that all new Hebrew sons be killed. "And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children) alive." (1:15-17). To fear God does not mean to be afraid of Him, it means to have respect for Him.

The midwives knew that God was with them and by their faith they were able to save the child, Moses who would be the great leader of the Isrealites. "And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink...............And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children...............And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water." (2:1-3,5-6,9-10).

Now, Moses enjoyed the first fourty years of his life in the kings palace, but all that changed when he killed an Egyptian man who was cruel to a couple of Isrealites. He fled as he feared for his life and resided in the land of Midian. It was there, fourty years later that God spoke to Moses through a bruning bush. "And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I." (2:1-4). It must have seemed to Moses a waste of 40 years to do nothing of importance. But, with the Lord, such time is never wasted. Moses could never have learned humility or been able to come closer to God in an Egyptian palace. He was too busy and too important. However, both experiences were vital in preparing him to be the person God could use to lead His people out of Egypt.

The wisdom of the world cannot qualify us to make right decisions in life We must be taught by the Holy Spirit through reading His Word and being obedient to its truth. It is the Holy Spirit's anointing on what we do and say that makes our lives worthwhile. Like Moses, our most basic need is the removal of self-sufficiency. It was spiritually necessary for Moses to tend sheep in order for him to eliminate self-will and fully yield to God's will.

Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
I realize that at times I forget that all things work together for Your good. Every experience in my life is one meant to help me grow closer to You and follow Your Will so that I am protected and safe from the world. Lord, bless me with the wisdom and understanding that I need to know You Will for me, help me to search the Scriptures to know exactly what that is so I am one step closer instead of two steps away from You. Help me also to remember to seek You and ask You daily for my needs through prayer as you always say that I have not because I ask not. In Jesus' name............Amen.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and weekend.
God Bless,

Christina

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